VPN - Virtual Private Network

Looking for a VPN? We recommend ...

Aktivix provide a vpn along with their email accounts or you can request one separately if you have an email already. The service are free, but you may be asked to make a small donation towards their running costs.

As with their email service, it works though a friend of a friend basis. Maybe you know anyone with an aktivix.org email or in any of the following groups or networks, noborders, indymedia, hacktionlab, climate camp & social centre network. You can also make contact on the aktivix IRC channel or their email list and introduce yourself.

What is a VPN?

Although you can encrypt your web and email communication, this is unfortunately not true for all applications. There is no such encryption for MSN and nobody knows what kind of encryption Skype uses and whether it is easily to be tapped. Therefore it would be nice if you can protect your connection in a more general way. This is possible with a VPN, which stands for "Virtual Private Network".

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. VPNs are often used in large organisations, so that individuals can access the intranet (internal network of the organisation) from somewhere else, like at home or when at meetings elsewhere. These VPNs allow access to a restricted network. The Aktivix VPN, however, acts in the other direction. That is, the Aktivix VPN allows people on the private/restricted network (i.e. you!) to access the entire web.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a good way of protecting your identity while your are using the Internet. It is also a good way of bypassing Internet censorship as well.

So why is this a good thing? Can't I just access the web anyway?

These are good questions. You can, in the UK and much of the West, access the most web anyway. But you will be spied upon! Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the UK keep detailed logs on all the computers connected through them, and the connections those computers make to other computers on the internet. This includes all types of connections, such as email, web browsing, bittorrent etc.

Also, by using and supporting VPN technology we make it harder for States to work with ISPs to censor the Internet and monitor our activities. Internet censorship and invasion of privacy are things that we feel are worth fighting against.